19. I don't think annihilation is his objective; it's just a side effect

I watched the clip of him trying to explain why he omitted mentioning the troops, giggles and all. He then went on to note that he spoke to the American Legion and the VFW.

Regarding the reference to the American Legion and the VFW, he comes across as checking off the boxes. Talked to VFW. Check. Talked to American Legion. Check. Done and dusted, don't have to talk to them again. Next.

But it was the reference to the troops that was most telling. Giggling, he observed that he did mention the military, which is the same thing as the troops, isn't it? My impression was that there was no sense of "the military," or even "the troops," as people. They weren't even pawns on a strategic chessboard. They didn't matter. How did military spending, or cuts, affect them. Didn't matter. They were incidental. They were side effects.

Now, back to union annihilation. Annihilation of unions may or may not be a Romney objective. But if unions are obliterated as a result of his policies, well, so what. It's a side effect. Let's take a look at the bottom line. Are the books balanced? Good. Are the American people suffering? So what.

President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are right, of course. This is an election choice between two sets of values. Two visions of moral behavior.